Is lower tuition the answer to S.D.'s workforce needs?

Bernadette Stelzle, from left, instructor Patrick Hoier and Lexi VanVeldhuizen work on a dummy during lab Tuesday, July 18, in the Health Building at Southeast Technical Institute.(Photo: Briana Sanchez / Argus Leader)Buy Photo

Making tuition competitive with two-year colleges in neighboring states would carry about a $10 million price tag. That's money Dykhouse said could come from the Legislature, or from industry partnerships.

The board doesn't yet have a plan for addressing how best to make tech schools more affordable. Members will spend the next several months learning more about tech school needs, industry needs and possible solutions.

“We’re just gathering information at this point,” said Tiffany Sanderson, director of career and technical education for the state Department of Education, who put together the tuition comparison presented to the board.

For tech school administrators, there's no question that higher tuition is a barrier for some students.

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Bernadette Stelzle, from left, and instructor Patrick Hoier work on a dummy during lab Tuesday, July 18, in the Health Building at Southeast Technical Institute.(Photo: Briana Sanchez / Argus Leader)

Julie Brookbank, associate to the president at Mitchell Technical Institute, said the challenge with having the highest tuition in the region is two-fold.

On the one hand, it makes it more challenging to recruit students from neighboring states. On the flip side, higher tuition can also push South Dakota students out of state.

"We're losing some South Dakota students to those schools as well because of the cost," Brookbank said.

Lower tuition could also help tech schools attract students who wouldn't otherwise consider post-secondary education as well as people who are already in the workforce but want to gain more credentials.

Both of these are groups the tech schools are looking at to increase enrollment in the coming years, and affordability could be key to bringing them into the fold.

"It's taking out one more barrier that could be in their way in terms of making that decision to come back and get their degree," said Tracy Noldner, vice president of student affairs and institutional research at Southeast Technical Institute.

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Bernadette Stelzle works on a dummy during lab Tuesday, July 18, in the Health Building at Southeast Technical Institute.(Photo: Briana Sanchez / Argus Leader)

While affordability is important, Dykhouse notes that South Dakota's tech schools have been ranked nationally for the quality of their programs. He said it's important to make sure that the quality of education isn't lost in the push for affordability.

For Brookbank, both quality and affordability need to be critical parts of the conversations moving forward.

“If we’re going to grow our workforce … then we have to look at ways to make this education not only appealing and relevant and cutting-edge," Brookbank said. "We have to make it affordable."

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